Essentials of the Christian faith



The Deity of Christ

     1.      "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)    
     2.       Jesus is God in flesh, Emmanuel "God with us." (John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14). See also John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 1:8

Salvation by Grace through faith and repentance

     1.      "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Rom. 4:5).
     2.      "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:8-9).
     3.      "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19)

The Resurrection of Christ

      1.      "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith," (1 Cor. 15:14).
      2.     "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins," (1 Cor. 15:17).

The Gospel

      1.      "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." (Gal. 1:8-9).

      2.     "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

Monotheism

      1.       There is only one God (Deut. 6:4; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8)

      2.      “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments,"  (Exodus 20:3-6).

Jesus is the only way to salvation

     1.      "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

Jesus' virgin birth

     1.      “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matt. 1:23).

The Trinity

      1.      "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matt. 28:19)  See also, Matt. 3:16-17; 1 Cor. 12:1-4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Jn. 5:7.

Sin

      1.       "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 Jn. 1:8)
                "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 Jn. 1:10)

      2.       "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt. 10:28)

      3.       It is impossible to come to a saving knowledge of Christ, the Saviour, without realizing that you are lost and need to be saved from something, or to be more precise Someone. There is some debate on this area of essentials but I do believe, that you must believe that you are a sinner and worthy of God's judgment before you can get saved.

Justification
     
     1.       "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Rom. 4:1-5)

     2.       "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." (Gal. 2:16)






Other Christian doctrines

Doctrine of election

This is the teaching that God chose whom He would save before He ever made Earth.

Scripture: 2Th. 2:13; Eph. 1:4; 1 Pe. 1:2; Joh. 13:18; Joh. 15:16; Joh. 17:6; Mat. 20:16; Joh. 6:44; Acts 22:14; 2 Ti. 2:4; Joh.6:37; 1 Th.1:4; Neh. 9:7;Gal. 1:15; 2 Ti. 1:9; Rom. 9:11; Rom. 11:5; Joh. 17:24; Acts 13:48; Rom. 8:28-30; 1 Th. 5:9; 2 Tim. 2:10; 1 Pe. 2:6; Mar. 13:20; Titus 1:1; 2 Jn. 1:13;1 Co. 1:27; Luke 18:7; Psa. 33:12; Psa. 65:4; Isa. 65:9; 2 Pe. 1:10; Hag. 2:23; Rom. 16:13

Doctrine of Regeneration

The scriptural teaching that God makes us a new man in Christ or that God makes us alive in Christ.

Scripture: Jer. 32:38-40; Eze. 36:26,27; John 3:3-8; Titus 3:5,6

Doctrine of Total Depravity

The scriptural teaching that man is completely fallen. Everything about man is affected by the fall.

Scripture: Gen. 6:5; Ps. 5:9, 14:1-3; Isa. 53:6, 64:6; Mic. 7:2-4; Mark 7:21-23; Rom. 3:9-19

Doctrine of Justification

The teaching that when man places his trust in Jesus Christ he is declared "Just" in the sight of God.

Scripture: Rom. 4:3; Ps. 32:2; John 5:24; Acts 13:39; Rom. 3:21-22, 5:1; Gal. 2:16, 3:8-9; Phil. 3:8-9

Doctrine of Hell

This is the scriptural teaching that Hell is a place of judgment poured out by God.

Scripture: Psa. 9:17; Pro. 5:5; Pro. 9:13-18; Pro. 15:24; Pro. 23:13-14; Isa. 30:33; Isa. 33:14; Matt. 3:12; Matt. 5:22; Matt. 5:29-30; Matt. 10:28; Matt. 11:23; Matt. 16:18; Matt. 18:9; Matt. 23:15; Matt. 23:33; Mark 9:43; Mark 9:45; Mark 9:47; Luke 10:15; Luke 12:5; Luke 16:23; Acts 2:27; Acts 2:31; James 3:6 Rev. 1:18; Rev. 6:8; Rev. 20:13-14

Doctrine of Irresistible Grace

This is the teaching that the one's that God calls will infallibly come to Him.

Scripture: Romans 8:30; Romans 11:7; Ephesians 1:10, 11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14; Ephesians 2:1-8; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 1:17, 18; Ezekiel 36:26;Deuteronomy 30:6; Ezekiel 36:27; Psalm 110:3; Song of Solomon 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Corinthians 2:14; John 5:25; John 3:8; Matthew 22:14; John 6:44, 45, 65



This is all I will deal with here if you have any questions post it in the forum or email sgapologetics@gmail.com